Sandblast cabinet question

[Ross/Kzoo]

I bought a Harbor Freight ( yes, I know,I know) sandblast cabinet and fired it up today with some Black Blast. The intake tube is clogging and I wonder if there is anything that I can do to prevent this.

[Aok]

Is the media you are using dry. If you have it set up in a shed dampness cause clumping.

[Ross/Kzoo]

I thought it was dry but maybe I should put some rice in it overnight to dry it out?

[insomniacshotrods]

I bought one and it worked better than my buddies $600 one. I caulked all the seems and hooked up a small vacuum to pull out the dust inside and piped it outside. Also had trouble with the stock air inlet clogging so i used a 90 degree thermostat housing i had and put a filter on the end of that and no more clogging.

[Ross/Kzoo]

For me it was the media pickup that clogs.

[Larry Seemann]

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I've been using a HF blaster for about 10 years and never had a clog. Or, in other words I can't help with why it's clogging but I think it's good blaster.

[rogerkb1936]

you can put your free hand over the nozzle and pull the trigger, that will clear clog at least temporarily.

[Rusty Homestead Fl]

Do you need to drain the air tank of water?

[Ross/Kzoo]

Originally Posted by Rusty Homestead Fl

Do you need to drain the air tank of water?

Rusty, I just drained the water out of the tank. There was some water in it. Hope that works.

[Mitch//pa]

put an inline water separator on your compressor outlet or air line
dont buy cheap

[Tom Wesenberg]

Yep as Mitch said an inline moisture trap at the cabinet is a must, in fact I have 2 in series.

To dry the media you can put a small light bulb, (like a 40 watt) in the bottom of the media overnight. The bulb heat will drive off the moisture.

[ctvpa]

My HF cabinet has given me years of problem free service. The water trap is a great idea, I would go one step more. If you are like me, my 30 foot hose connects to my cabinet. There can be a great deal of condensation along the hose, so I have a water trap on my cabinet air input. You will be surprised.
If you still have problems check the nozzle and grit you are using.
All this said, every once in a while I aim the gun into the media, or give the cabinet a good shake if the media has settled.
One last warning, if the cabinet is in your shop, no matter how well you seal it, or vent it, your shop will get abrasive dust everywhere. Be sure your car is outside, and you cover things when you use it.
You will get a great deal of use from this unit, good luck.

[Tom Wesenberg]

That's for sure about the dust getting all over the room the cabinet is in.

And one more bit of advice......the best thing you can do is to buy the carbide tip right away, otherwise you will spend a lot of time and money changing worn out tips.

[Mitch//pa]

how about a vacuum system my tp cabinent came with it

[Ross/Kzoo]

Thanks for the rteplies. I put in an in water separator and when the media wasn't flowing I put my finger over the tip and gave 2 quick blasts to send the media back out of the pick up tube. I also placed a dish of rice in the blaster overnight to dry it out. It's going great now and I've just got to seal up a couple more leaks. It seems to be a nice unit and at $157.50 it was well worth it.

[Ross/Kzoo]

Thanks for the replies. I put in an in water separator and when the media wasn't flowing I put my finger over the tip and gave 2 quick blasts to send the media back out of the pick up tube. I also placed a dish of rice in the blaster overnight to dry it out. It's going great now and I've just got to seal up a couple more leaks. It seems to be a nice unit and at $157.50 it was well worth it.

[ctvpa]

I tried the vacuum port. Yes, there was very little dust, but after about a half an hour, all my media was in the vacuum !

Originally Posted by Mitch//pa

how about a vacuum system my tp cabinent came with it

[Mitch//pa]

Originally Posted by ctvpa

I tried the vacuum port. Yes, there was very little dust, but after about a half an hour, all my media was in the vacuum !

it did its job just pour whatever was collected back onto the cabinet...

[Mitch//pa]

also make sure you didnt use something to powerful. the vacuum unit that comes with the tp cabs just seem to collect more dust and not media...

[Tom Wesenberg]

My Dayton cabinet came with a large cloth dust bag with a zipper on the bottom of it. It also came with a squirel cage fan about the same size found in cars. It does a good job, but the very fine dust still gets through any openings and the bag, so everything in the room does get a fine dust layer.

[Mitch//pa]

my cabinet came with this and works great.. this alone costs more than the hf unit lol...
you get what you pay for...

[Mitch//pa]

get this set up made in usa

[Ross/Kzoo]

Further update. I found a water separator that I bought 8 years ago, I forgot that I had it. I also put a halogen light in the cabinet for 3-4 hours to dry up the media. The unit came powder coated and with a foam/caulk tape to seal most of the leaks. As I was tightening the machine screws some of the panels flexed a little which jeopardized the seal. I finally did a close up inspection of the cabinet with a light and mirror (it's heck to get old and stiff) and found the places where it was leaking. It was quite easy since I was using Black Blaster and the black residue on the red made it easy to spot. It's not the best cabinet but I'm well satisfied for 26% of the $600 cabinet.

[jhowes]

This has been very interesting, i have a tp cabinet and my complaint is that i can't see what i am doing after about 10 minutes. Yes it does have an attached vacuum unit but the glass seems to get dusty very fast. Mine does not seem to put dust into the room it is very tight.

[Mitch//pa]

Originally Posted by jhowes

This has been very interesting, i have a tp cabinet and my complaint is that i can't see what i am doing after about 10 minutes. Yes it does have an attached vacuum unit but the glass seems to get dusty very fast. Mine does not seem to put dust into the room it is very tight.

i have the same system what are you using the cheap skat blast abrasive is no good too powdery and dusty also clogs the vacuum filter...i switched to this stuff no dust works great

[Keith True]

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What the Black Beauty(black blast) people call fine grade is not fine enough for these blasters.It is good for the pressure pots,but for the siphon guns it is too hard to pull up.I have a couple of cabinets that I have to run extra fine in.I can't think of the number right off the top of my head,but it is finer than the 2040 black blast.

[KR500]

As for the plastic window plastic which many cabinets use, I cut 3 of the proper size for both the viewing window and the light. My Dayton cabinet is quick to pull out the frosted sheet from the light or window and replace the light, which merely lifts or the window which has 4 wing nuts and washers. Keep in mind there should be a shielded opening on one side of the cabinet to let air in which the vacuum removes.

[Tom Wesenberg]

I would only use glass in the cabinet as plastic scratches too easily and gets static electricity which attract the dust. Even with glass and using black beauty, I have to give the inside of the glass a wipe with my glove to clean off the dust.

My Dayton cabinet has a squirrel cage fan to suck the dust into a large cloth bag, and it has a baffle over the cabinet opening so the dust has to enter from the bottom of the opening. The baffle keeps the good media inside the cabinet while collecting only the dust.

[pooch]

There are many ways to minimise dust leaching out.

One is to get a 5 gallon drum and lid and have the dust outlet going into the top of it on one side and and the vacuum out of of other top side and have it full of water to near the top.

You do not lose any air flow and the dust hits the water and sinks.

Saves clogging up your vac bag all the time.

[Cool Hand Lurker]

Pooch, the water drum works well for sheet rock sanding dust also. I use a wet/dry shop vac with water in it and put the inlet pipe totally under the water so the air/dust has to go through the water and it really cleans it up before hitting the vacuum.

[Pinstripe]

I built a blast cabinet out of a fuel oil barrel, and I use the vac. set-up like Mitch. That works great. Also the front window is plexiglass with saran wrap over the inner surface(tightly stretched). This is held in with duct tape. It lasts a long time and wipes off easy and is quick to change. and it was cheap

[oleretlmn]

i keep a rod dehumidifier-made for gun safes etc- in my home made cabinet- when not in use-keeps media dry-last forever-very low power drain

[billwill]

Originally Posted by Ross/Kzoo

Rusty, I just drained the water out of the tank. There was some water in it. Hope that works.

Leave the compriser drain hising no more water in tank

[modeleh]

Duct tape a piece of scotchbrite pad over the dust port on the inside of the cabinet. This acts as a "filter" to screen out some of the coarse material that ends up in the vacuum.
Also, if you hook up a vacuum to the dust port, make sure the air vent on the back wall is open. I accidentally imploded my glass viewing screen the first time I hooked up my vacuum. Not tempered -- instant glass bead

[Joe K]

A negative pressure in the cab is a negative pressure, but that is not to say that a direct (or indirect hit) on a gasket or door edge might not push a little bit of abrasive/dust into the room.

Your vacuum does have to have air capacity beyond the capability of the blast nozzle. CFM requirements of different size nozzles can be deceiving - as can the capacity of a vacuum to remove it through the corrugated flex hose, fittings, filter, discharge pipe, etc.

And most vacuums are not rated in SCFM (or even CFM)

Joe K

[TDO]

I use a HF sand blast cabinet , with a 5 gal. shop vac on dust port , no dust any where out side of cabinet. also use a water trap right at the cabinet , never a problem